Two's a Crowd
by Amber Krueger
Summary: Sam is just getting used to his new job as The Devil's bounty hunter, but The Devil has decided to spice things up a bit and bring in a new recruit. Will Sam go along with it, or will two be a crowd? R&R, COMPLETE!
1. A New Job

The sun arose into the morning sky, painting it with the colors of daylight across the horizon.

Jerking awake, Amber sat up in her bed and shielded her eyes from the beaming light of day that seeped through the green curtains of the window facing her. She got to her feet and slipped into a pair of black, fuzzy slippers. _Another day in the life of Amber the bored, _She thought on the way to the bathroom. As she shut the bathroom door, she turned to the mirror that hung over the plain, white, porcelain sink. She studied her face deeply; her emerald green eyes mirrored themselves like an echo, their reflection within their reflection. She turned her head from side to side and stuck her chin in and out. _Maybe I lost some weight, _She shrugged and advanced to her toothbrush.

Amber pushed in a CD and a mellow song began to play, _"I'll never be your beast of burden… my back is broad but it's a hurting…" _She turned up the volume and shifted the car into drive. _"All I want is for you to make love to me." _Mick Jagger sang, his voice blaring from the stereo speakers of Amber's red Mustang convertible. She pulled into The Work Bench parking lot and into a spot closest to the front entrance.

"Alright, here goes nothing." She parked and turned off the engine. She got out and held down a button on her keys that made the hard top go up. She locked it and then smoothed down her plain black T-shirt.

"Ok." She sighed and then made her way up to the doors.

"Hi, I'm Amber." Amber shook the manager's hand and sat down in sync with him.

"Amber, welcome to The Work Bench. I'm Ted." He locked his fingers together, resting his elbows on the desk.

"Hi Ted." Amber laughed nervously.

"So, Amber… what makes you think you've got what it takes to become an employee here?" Ted asked, not blinking once.

"Oh well, I'm good with people and I am very persuasive, so I'd probably be good at selling stuff." She picked at her cuticles.

Ted sat back in his chair and contemplated for a minute… "Welcome to the Bench." He stood up and held out his hand for her to shake it.

"Really? Sweet!" Amber smiled and shook his hand once again.

"When do I start?" She got up and fixed her blue jeans.

"You can start later tonight, how's 7:00 for you?" Ted made his way around the desk to walk Amber out.

"7:00 is great." She smiled again as Ted handed her an apron, "You'll be needing this."

As Amber got back to her car, she noticed that the top was down. _Didn't I put the top up? _She thought, whilst getting in.

"Whatever." Nothing was missing and everything seemed to be in place. She turned the key and started the car, now on her way back home. As she got onto the road, she had the feeling of being watched…

"I've always loved convertibles." A man's voice said, coming from the back seat.

Amber jolted in shock and quickly looked up into the driver's mirror. No one was there.

"But they always seem to mess up your hair." The voice said, now coming from beside her.

Amber slowly turned her head to the passenger's seat to find an older man sitting there. She screamed and slammed her foot on the breaks; the car skidded and swerved, coming to a full stop.

"Who are you? Get out of my car; I've got… pepper spray!" (She really didn't have pepper spray, but lying was her only defense for the moment.) She cried, clenching her black leather purse and facing him. The man smiled a wide toothy grin, "No you don't. The only thing in that purse threatening to me is that horrible shade of pink nail polish." He calmly pulled down the visor (which had a small mirror attached to it), and fixed the collar of his black suit. Amber ogled at him, speechless. _How did he know that? _She thought, setting the purse down. Nevertheless, she was still wondering how the hell he got into her car without her even noticing. The man straightened his crimson red tie and pushed the visor back into place. "Who the hell are you?" She fixated her stare on him, ignoring the silly suspicions that went through her mind. "Oh, I think you know who I am." He turned to face her, his smile faded into a straight, dead on stare. Amber gasped and searched for the car door handle with her hand from behind. She opened the door and stumbled out backwards, not taking her eyes off the man for even a split second. "You've got to be kidding me. Who are you?" She repeated herself, starting to believe that she _did _know who he was.

"You've got to be kidding _me_! Is that little brain of yours still trying to figure out who I am?" The man said as he stepped out of the car. He ran his hand over the hood as he slowly walked towards her. Amber backed up; she couldn't find the words to express her awe. "Hey, don't insult my little brain!" She blurted, trying to lighten up the situation. Humor was her backup; she'd fall in a game of trust without it. The man snickered, his smile returning. "What do you want?" Amber said, crossing her arms. "You're shift." The man chuckled, "My shift? What the… what are you talking about?" "You work for me now, and I suggest you clock in because time's a-wasting!" He clapped his hands and suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a small rectangular box. It was wooden and had two iron locks on the front that appeared to be demon heads. Amber blinked and looked around her, _where did he go?_ She thought then taking her attention to the wooden box on the ground. She picked it up and got back into her car.


	2. The Devil

Sam awoke to the repetitive beeping of his alarm clock, just about the same time Amber woke up. "Wake-y, wake-y, eggs and bake-y!" Sock jumped on the edge of Sam's bed and bounced up and down. Sam groggily groaned and threw his pillow at Sock. "Hey!" Sock dodged the pillow and jumped off the bed. 

Sam kicked off his covers and sat up as Sock smacked him on the head with the pillow. Sam got up and tackled him, just as Ben walked in. "What the hell are you guys doing?" Ben said, scratching his head. Sock had Sam in a headlock, whilst Sam continuously punched Sock in the belly for him to let go. "Ok…" Ben rolled his eyes and walked away, "We're going to be late for work… you can beat each other up there." He called from the kitchen. "Uncle!" Sam yelled as Sock gave him a noogie before dropping him to the floor.

It was around 10:30 AM when they finally showed up for work. Amber had just left as they made their way up to the entrance, where Ted stood just as he stopped waving at Amber. He turned to face Sam, Sock and Ben, and blocked them from the doors. "Hey Ted-ster, who were you waving at?" Sock smirked and poked Ted in the shoulder. "A new employee, mind you." Ted replied, moving away from the entrance. "Oh, fresh meat!" Sock giggled and clapped. "You're late." Ted frowned, following them inside. "We had traffic problems, Ted." Sam fibbed, anything to get the master nagger off his back. "Well, make sure it doesn't happen again." Ted huffed, walking back to his office with his nose in the air. "You hear that, Sam? We got a new playmate. Wonder what his name is…" Sock snickered. "How do you know it's a guy? Could be a girl." Ben sat down on a step stool and folded his arms. "Yeah or maybe The Devil filled out an application just so he can bug me more." Sam sighed. 

Amber pulled into her driveway, and shifted into park. _What the hell was that… please tell me I'm hallucinating, _She thought as she rested her head back. She let out a long sigh and got out of the car, leaving the wooden box on the passenger's seat. 

Just as she got to the front door, a white Chevy Celebrity pulled up. _HONK, HONK! _

Amber turned around and squealed, "Hey!" she ran down the lawn and to the white car. "Whazzup!" She leaned on the passenger's door as the window rolled down. "The gas price for one." Aubrie (Amber's little sister), said from inside the white Chevy Celebrity. "No dip." Amber walked around the front of the car and to the driver's side. "Get out, I'm car jacking you!" She joked and opened the door. "You can have this piece of junk." Aubrie kicked the side of the car with her knee. "Not even the dump will take it." She scoffed. Amber laughed and hugged her little sister. "Where've you been? I haven't heard from you in for-ever." She picked her up and spun her around.

"I'll tell you if you put me down!" Aubrie choked as Amber set her down. They ran up the lawn and up to the front door, where Amber started to search for her key. "You really need to get more organized." Aubrie laughed, pulling out her key and opening the door. "I forgot you had a key… I need to change the locks." Amber pushed her inside and followed behind her. Aubrie flopped onto the couch and rested her feet on the blonde oak coffee table that stood on a decorative throw rug in front of her. Amber went into the kitchen and started up the Magic Chef coffee maker. "So how's life?" She said from behind the breakfast bar, at Aubrie's back. "Oh, you know… the usual suckishness. School, boys, mom and dad…" "I get you. Only two more years and you can move out though." Amber poked at a lone penny on the bar. "How about you?" Aubrie looked up at Amber, pressing her head back, deep into the beige, leather cushion.

Amber just remembered what had happened this morning. Her eyes widened and she gasped, _maybe it was a dream, _she rushed back into the living room and out the front door. Aubrie quickly sat up, "What's wrong?" She called out, as Amber came back in with a small rectangular box in her arms. She kicked the door shut from behind and sat on the floor by Aubrie. "Whoa, creepy. What's it?" Aubrie crawled onto the floor, and sat on her calves across from her sister. "I don't exactly know… but something REALLY screwed up happened this morning." Amber locked her eyes on the wooden box. "What happened?" Aubrie stared at Amber then at the box. "If you promise not to freak out… I think I met The Devil… on my way home." 

Aubrie frowned and then began to laugh, "Yeah right! Only you." She giggled and then slapped the wooden box. "No really, what happened?" She added.

Amber kept a straight face, "I'm serious." 

"Well did he _say _he was The Devil?" Aubrie asked. "No… but he said 'You know who I am' and he did appear out of NOWHERE in my car, WHILE I was driving it, mind you. He also knew about the horrible shade of pink nail polish I have in my purse." Amber explained. "He _appeared _in your car, while you were driving it." Aubrie raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?" she laid the back of her hand on Amber's forehead. "You don't feel warm…" She mumbled. "Aubrie, I'm not sick! Ok? I know I'm obsessed with all that crap, but I'm serious. If he wasn't The Devil, then who or what the hell was he?" Amber snatched Aubrie's hand away from her forehead and looked into her eyes. Aubrie got the point, it was hard for her to believe it, but somehow she knew her big sister wasn't lying… _this time. _

Hours past, and daylight faded into twilight. 

The clock read 6:45 PM, as Amber began to get dressed for her first shift at The Work Bench. Music blasted from inside her bedroom, the heavy metal bass pounded through the walls and vibrated the hardwood floors. "_So come on! …Jump in the fire! So come on! …Jump in the fire! Come on, jump baby now!" _A fierce guitar solo pierced from the stereo speakers and swam into Amber's ears, she couldn't help but head bang to it. She danced and bobbed her head as she stepped into a pair of tight denim jeans. She zipped them up and automatically played the air guitar and power slid to the doorway.

"Bravo! Encore!"

Said a familiar man's voice, followed by a series of applause. The music stopped, and Amber looked up to find the same man from her car standing right in front of her, in her bedroom doorway. She quickly got to her feet and backed away. "What do you want? Go away!" She grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at him. The pillow landed in the empty doorway. "I'm in no mood for pillow fights." The man said now from behind her. Amber turned around and jumped back. "It's time you got to work." He waved his hand and the wooden box appeared on the bed in front of him. "Work? What are you talking about? I don't work for you!" 

"Oh, but you do. It's all in the contract." He smiled at her. 

"Contract? What… I never signed a contract!" Amber raised her voice by every word she spoke, (something she's well known for). "You didn't, but your mother did." His smile grew, and he let out a small chuckle. A frown creased in Amber's brow, "My mother… my MOM? No… she wouldn't do that… how…" She stuttered and stumbled into the wall behind her. She looked back up at him, "So… let me get this straight… you are The Devil?" 

"Pretty much yeah. Unless you want to call me by my other famous names, I am The Devil." 

"Oh man... You mean to tell me that my mom sold my soul to you…?" She tried to steady her voice.

The Devil nodded, that smile still plastered across his face. "FOR WHAT?" She finally let go of her voice and let it rise as high and loud as it would go. 

"Oh, that's costumer confidentiality. You're gonna have to ask her yourself." He laughed. If his smile grew anymore, it'd probably fall off his face, but still he smiled and smiled that well-known grin of his. 

"So what am I supposed to do? If I work for you, what do I do?"

"You collect escaped souls from hell, with each vessel that I will supply you with. Easy enough, right?" Satan laughed again.

Amber almost twitched, "So, that's a vessel?" She motioned her head to the wooden box on the edge of her bed. "And then what?" 

"Questions will be answered in time. For now, I have someone who is going to train you as a Reaper, his name is Sam Oliver, and you'll come to find it very convenient that he also works at The Work Bench."

_The Work Bench…_

Amber then suddenly realized that she was going to be late for work. She looked to the electronic clock that sat upon her nightstand and it read, "6:59 PM" 

"Oh no! Damn it!" She grabbed her purse and without thinking, she grabbed the wooden box and ran to her car.


	3. The Vessel

Sam stood on a mini latter and shoved three bottles of motor oil onto a shelf. He turned around and caught another two from Sock, who then continued to dig into the box at his feet, unloading the rest of it. He passed the last two onto Sam, and then moved to another box, this time filled with WD-40. As he started to pull out cans of WD-40, Ted made his way into the aisle, with Amber following behind. Sock paused and slowly swiveled around on one foot, for his eyes to find a girl he has yet to meet, ( and to think Sock hasn't met her yet ). He dropped the cans of WD-40; they clacked and spun as they hit the floor. Sock gazed at Amber, and began to smile, shifting his eyes to her long curly red hair. "Hair… so pretty… must… touch!" Sock held out his arms and stretched his fingers outward to touch her hair.

Amber stepped back and stared at Sock, who almost tripped over his own feet, trying to reach her hair. "Don't touch the do' and we'll get along fine." She folded her arms and rolled her eyes. (If Amber had to choose the thing that annoyed her the most, it was when people touched her hair.)

"Sam, _Bert, _I'd like you to meet Amber. She's the new employee I told you about before." Ted smiled glancing at Amber, then taking his attention to Sam. "Sam, you will be training Amber for the week. I've already taken the liberty of giving her the Bench Tour. So just get back to work, Amber will help you stock the shelves." He glared at Sock before he waddled away and back to his office.

"New employee. Nice." Sam hopped down from the mini latter, and held his hand out, "I'm Sam, and this is Sock."

Amber shook his hand, "I'm Amber." She laughed, "Nice to meet you." She scrunched her nose and brow as Sock sniffed her hair. "Stop that!" She jumped back and ran her fingers through her hair. It lay down flat and fluffy on her back in single ribbons of curls. "Sorry, he has a thing for awesome hair." Sam coughed and bumped sides with Sock. "Eh, I don't blame him. I do have awesome hair." Amber grinned and flipped her hair off her shoulder. "So, you're Sam? Sam Oliver…?" She tilted her head and studied his features, (she tended to do that with people she was newly acquainted with).

"Yeah, that's me." Sam said as Sock purposely bumped him with his hip.

Ben walked around the corner, brushing off his blue Work Bench apron; he looked up and noticed Sam talking with Amber, "Hey… new person." He pointed at her and then continued brushing off his apron.

"Hi" Amber chirped at Ben and smiled.

"I'm Ben" He said, preoccupied with the spot on his apron.

"Hey Sam, can I talk to you in private for a second?" Amber hesitated.

"Yeah, sure…" Sam raised an eyebrow and followed Amber outside the aisle.

"Ok, I have this little problem." She started, "Now I know we just met, and you probably won't believe me, but please tell me you know what the hell is going on, because I don't have a clue."

"I'll try." Sam scratched the back of his neck, confused.

"Alright. Please don't think I'm crazy… but I think I met The Devil today, and he says I work for him now. He told me that Sam Oliver, which is you, would be training me as a Reaper. If you know anything about this I'd really like the help." Amber explained in one breath, she tried to steady her breathing and relax herself.

Sam's jaw dropped and he just ogled at her. "You met The Devil… and… aw, c'mon!" He stomped his foot and pulled at his hair. "He just doesn't stop, does he?" He murmured to himself.

"So you know? You believe me? Oh thank God, I thought I was going nuts." Amber sighed in relief and sat on the edge of a bike display. "Listen, what did he say exactly? Did he give you anything or…?" Amber interrupted - "Yes! He gave me this box, I didn't open it yet, but he says it's a vessel…? And I have to catch escaped souls from Hell with it…?"

"Where is it?" Sam asked, "It's in my car. Do you want me to get it…?" Just as Amber began to stand up, she almost tripped over something.

She looked down, to find the vessel at her feet. She picked it up, "Well that's convenient."

"Should I open it? The Devil seemed a bit testy… he kept telling me to get to work." She circled her thumb around one of the demon head latches. "Yeah, you don't want to get him mad, trust me." Sam sat down as Amber placed the box on her lap. She lifted both of the latches with her thumbs and slowly opened it. Smoke rose from it as she lifted the lid, and soon cleared to reveal a BB gun inside.

"Whoa, sweet!" Sam grabbed the gun before Amber could even get a good look at it. "A BB gun? Cool." She laughed and snatched the gun from Sam's hand. She cocked it and aimed at a can of paint on a shelf in front of her. "Ready, aim… FIRE!" She pulled the trigger and nothing happened. "Aw, no ammo." She frowned. Sam smirked, "Never works for me either. At least now I know I'm not the only one." He shrugged.


	4. Devil's Dance

Later on, after work, Sam invited Amber to join them at the bar.

"So, you work for The Devil now too?" Ben chugged the last bit of his beer. Amber nodded and took a sip of her beer and ate a French fry. "Well, we're all doomed to Hell now, so how about we make a toast?" Sock lifted his half-full mug of beer into the air; Amber shrugged and did the same, along with Sam and Ben. They all clanged their cups together and simultaneously yelled, "Cheers!"

Just as Amber and Sam's glasses touched, they both appeared in a crowded and darkened club. People were dancing and rubbing up against each other. Spit was being swapped by three people at a time, girl on girl and guy on guy, this was the next Sodom and Gomorrah. AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" played and lights flashed rapidly.

Amber and Sam both looked around, still holding their mugs of beer together. "What the hell, man?" Amber turned around to find The Devil sitting at the bar, not too far from them. "Hey look." She pulled at Sam's arm, "I kind of figured." He sighed as they walked up to him. "You never tell me anything do you?" Sam scowled. The Devil smiled, "I'm not obligated to tell you everything, Sammy." The bartender slid Tequila with lime shot over to The Devil and he caught it with his left hand. "Thanks _Jimmy_." He grinned as the bartender looked over in surprise to hear his name from someone he never even met before. Just as he turned his head, he slid on a water spill and face planted on the floor. Satan laughed aloud and then looked back at Amber and Sam. "Good one." Amber laughed as the bartender tried to get to his feet. She placed her beer on the counter and then leaned her back against the wall. Sam glanced at Amber, he didn't actually find the bartender falling and spraining his neck very funny. "Why do I have to train her? I never had anyone train me." He complained. 

The Devil disregarded Sam and suddenly "Devil's Dance" by Metallica began to play. "I just love this song." The Devil's lips curled over his teeth into a heinous grin. Amber rolled her eyes, (even though she also loved that song). The Devil got to his feet and stood in front of her, "What?" Amber fixated her eyes on him in a frown. He just looked at her and the music got louder and louder, until it's all they could hear. Without even realizing it, Amber began to move her body to the song. Sam watched him as he stepped closer towards her. Amber took The Devil's hand and lead him into the middle of the crowd. "What the…?" Sam stared in awe, shock, surprise you name it… _What the hell were they doing? _

Amber wrapped her arms around his neck, and _he _slid his hands down to the small of her back. Dancing… They were… _Dancing. _

The mass of people stopped and watched Amber and The Devil dance. "We're dancing, aren't we…" Amber's voice faded around her as she slipped into a hypnotic state. She felt as if she were in the dancing scene in Stephen King's _Carrie, _and she was Carrie White and The Devil was Tommy Ross. "Fun, huh?" The Devil remained smiling. Amber continued to dance… to spin… the people around her, they were still, but she was spinning… just going round and round in a circle. 

The song ended and everyone just resumed to their foreplay orgy. Amber seemed to be in a conscious trance as they walked back to the bar. Something had just come over her; she usually didn't do that… (With someone like The Devil anyway). Sam sat at the bar and shook his head, "You need help." He glowered at The Devil, his comment leaving The Devil laughing again.

"Yeah, that was weird."

Amber rubbed her head as she sat down. She picked up her beer and finished it in one swallow.

"What is this place, anyway?" She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Club _SIN_." Satan answered.

Amber swept the place over with her eyes, "The name fits." She called the bartender over for another beer, (This time a different bartender, _Jimmy _was sent to the hospital.). "And why are we here?" Sam huffed. "Oh… I just wanted to make sure you two were getting along well." The Devil said, drinking his shot and biting onto the lime. "Ooh! That's tangy." He grimaced and smacked his lips.

"Well at least be useful for once, and tell us about the soul we're supposed to catch." Sam said.

"Fine." The Devil frowned, "You see him?" He pointed into the crowd. His finger aimed at a short and stocky man, he was balding and wearing a cheap blue suit with a clip on tie. Amber nodded, and watched his every move. "His name is Robert Mason and he is on Hell's Most Wanted list. He'll be a real doosy to catch, let me tell you." He snickered, "As a child he would play with a BB gun, until one day he _accidentally _shot a squirrel. It died on contact… with a little help from Moi." Amber looked at him, "Oh that's nice."

"He soon realized the thrill of the kill, so he started shooting animals for fun. Soon, squirrels went to birds, and birds went to cats, and so on. After a while it lost it's fun, so he stopped using his BB gun, and tried torture. But torturing animals got boring after a while too…" The Devil explained. "So then he started torturing _people_, right?" Amber asked. "Very good! See Sammy, you need to learn from her. She could teach you a thing or two." Satan smirked. "What? I watch a lot of Law & Order… and killing animals in childhood is like a gateway drug. It leads you to a path of murder. He was probably a sociopath." Amber stretched and played with her hair. "You know, I might have to replace Sam with you." The Devil cackled and slapped Sam on the shoulder. Amber scoffed, "I'm surprised that you didn't know I knew all this stuff. Please, it's no big deal anyway… when you're someone as awesome as I am." She bragged. "Pride, what a nice touch." The Devil said. "I would probably go to Hell anyway, so working for you doesn't make much of a difference. I'm just that type of blessed person." She giggled and cracked her knuckles, (she was also well known to be arrogant at times, her ego liked to speak through her randomly). 

Suddenly Amber and Sam found themselves back at the table with Ben and Sock, still holding their cups up in a toast. 

Amber stood up, "Ok, that was WEIRD." She sat down her empty mug. "You get used to it." Sam sighed. 

"We better move our asses and find the soul." She grabbed her purse and made her way out to her car. 


	5. Family Feud

As Amber got in her car, her cell phone rang… _"TNT, I'm dynamite! TNT and I'll win the fight! TNT-" _

Amber flipped open her red Samsung, "Yo, whazzup?"

"Hey sis, how was your first day at work?" Aubrie replied, just finishing her pedicure.

"Pretty good… I opened that box I showed you earlier."

"Really? What was in it?"

"I'll show you. Where you at?"

"Home." Aubrie wiggled her toes and blew on her toenails to dry the French tips.

"Good… that reminds me, I need to talk to mom…"

Amber flipped shut the phone and dropped it onto the passenger seat beside her (another well-known trait of hers; hanging up the phone without saying goodbye). She pressed her foot down on the gas and sped at least 20 miles over the limit.

As Amber pulled into the driveway of her mother's house, Aubrie shot out of the front door in her fuchsia flip-flops (which slapped on her heals with every step she took).

Amber shut off the engine and got out to meet her little sister with a hug. "Hey 'ho" She snatched her favorite Rolling Stones tote bag and swung it onto her shoulder, bumping to door shut with her hip. "Did you tell mom I was coming?" Amber put her arm around Aubrie as they made their way up to the house. "Nope." Aubrie smacked her lips on the 'P'.

"Alright." They stepped inside. Amber tossed her purse onto the living room couch as she turned the corner into the kitchen.

"Mom." Amber stood in the doorway, several feet from her mother, who sat at the kitchen table, scratching a lottery ticket.

"Hey sweet!" Her mom, (Bernadette), got up and held out her arms to hug her daughter. "No. We need to talk. You sold my soul to The Devil!"

Her mother immediately frowned and sat back down. "Sit." She motioned for Amber to sit down. "I don't know how to explain this…" She started. "How about by first telling me why the hell you did this?" Amber started raising her voice (again), trying to stifle her tears. "You weren't born yet… the doctor told me that you weren't going to make it and there was nothing I could do to help you. So, I made a deal with The Devil… I offered my soul, but he wouldn't accept it…" Her mother explained, tears rolling down her cheeks. "So he took my soul, right?" Amber balled her fist until her knuckles were white. She pulled back her arm like a trigger waiting to be pulled, "You were born a healthy baby, on the condition that when you turned 21, you'd work for him as a Reaper." "Oh that's just…" Amber stood up and punched the wall, leaving a hole where her knuckles hit. "GREAT." She bellowed and turned back to face her mom. "Thanks mom, now I have no choice but to burn in Hell when I die." She opened the fridge and grabbed a Coke. "You would've never been born, if I hadn't!" Her mother cried. "Whatever." Amber shook her head and headed out of the kitchen. As she reached the doorway, she paused, "Why didn't you just let me die?" A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the marble floor. She advanced to the front door, "Love you sis." Amber didn't stop this time, she continued out the door and toward her car.

"What's with the long face, kiddo?" The Devil appeared in front of her car, leaning on the hood. "Get off my car." Amber passed him and jumped over the car door and onto the seat. Not bothering to buckle her seat belt, she turned the key and the engine purred awake. The Devil appeared in the passenger seat, "Having a family feud?" He snickered at his dry humor. Amber didn't answer him. She backed out of the driveway and rammed the shift into drive, speeding out of the neighborhood and onto the highway. "I don't take being ignored very well." A frown creased in the Satan's brow, slowly turned his head to face Amber.

Amber glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "Fuck you." She pressed the gas down as far as it would go, the engine roaring louder and louder, as the orange hand on the speedometer moved higher and higher, from 50 MPH to 60 to 80. "Hey no need to be mean." The Devil buckled up, (knowing he was egging her on). She let up on the gas a little as she came up to a red light; no cars were coming from either direction so she went through it.

"Oh, breaking the law now, are we?" He smiled. Amber punched the radio button with her finger and heavy metal hammered from the speakers. She turned it all the way up so she couldn't hear anything but the music. "Now you're starting to annoy me." The Devil growled. Amber heard his voice clear as day, as if he were speaking into her mind. No matter, she began to sing to the current song. She obviously didn't care if she pissed off Satan. She didn't even care if she pissed off God. If she didn't want to talk then she wasn't going to talk. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The Devil started to laugh with his mouth closed. His smile returned, "I knew I liked you. You know, your grandmother was right. You really are a born leader." He chuckled and disappeared, his laugh echoing eerily in the night air. The moment he was gone, Amber shut off the radio and pulled to the side of the road. She leaned over the steering wheel, and began to cry. The feelings of betrayal and rage mixed, balling up into a lump in her throat. She felt an endless need of comfort. She was lost, and she couldn't do anything about it.

_Unless… _

Amber lifted her head and wiped the streams of mascara from her face. _I just won't do it. He can't make me work for him. I won't do it. _

A big smile spread across her flushed face. She took a deep breath and started the car.

The next day at The Work Bench, Amber sat with Sock and Sam in the break room. She shoveled a plastic black fork into a small bowl of macaroni and cheese. "So did you find anything about the soul, yet?" Sam asked, whilst chewing a mouthful of ham sandwich. "Nope." Amber flipped the tab on her half empty can of Pepsi, slowly chewing her lunch. "Why not?" Sam swallowed and stared at her with concern.

Sock took a big bite out of a cheeseburger from McDonald's, "Having Devil trouble?" He said, muffled by the wad of burger in his mouth.

Amber shook her head and took a sip of Pepsi.

"I'm not doing it. He can't make me; I'm not his little plaything." She gently patted her chest and burped.

Sam set down his sandwich back onto the plastic wrap it came from. "You can't just NOT work for him. He'll kill you… or worse." "There is nothing he can do that will make me change my mind." Amber continued to scoop macaroni and cheese into her mouth. _I've heard that before, _Sam thought.

She finished the last bit of her lunch and then chucked her trash into the wastebasket across from her. She got up and straightened out her apron, "I'm going to work the registers with Andi." Amber tucked her chair under the table and left.

"She is gonna be in some DEEP Devil crap." Sock shoved the rest of his cheeseburger into his mouth and washed it down with a McDonald's Coke. Sam nodded and sighed, "Yep."


	6. Stake Out

Sam marched up the municipal center stairs with Sock at his side. They met Josie inside, "Hey guys, you'd better make this quick. My boss finds you here and-" Josie was grabbed by Sock and pulled into a sloppy kiss. Sam scoffed as Josie pushed Sock away from her lips. She grinned and giggled. "Alright, c'mon, what do you need?" "We need the dirt on Robert Mason" Sam and Sock followed behind Josie as she lead them into her office. "Ooh, he was one of the biggest serial killers since BTK." Josie said, hovering over Sam's shoulder as he sat down in the computer chair. Sock played with Josie's hair from behind, "BTK? Sounds like Burger King." He snorted. Josie raised an eyebrow and looked at Sock from her peripheral vision. "Yeah, no." She rolled her eyes. "Why do you need to know about Robert Mason anyway?" Josie asked as Sam pulled up Mason's file. "Uh… no reason." He hesitated, and then drew his attention back to the computer screen. "It says here that Robert Mason was murdered… by his own victim?" Sam wrinkled his brow in concentration. "Tough luck." Sock said. "He was killed in 1978, by Amelia Taint" Sam shrugged, "I wonder if she's still alive… it says that she was 23 at the time so if she is she'd be 53 now." He mumbled to himself. "Look her up." Josie said. Sam pulled up Amelia Taint's file. "Good news." Sam smiled, "She's still alive and living at 432 Mercury St." He snatched a post-it note pad and scribbled down the address with a pen by the keyboard. "Let's go." 

Amber stood at her register, jaded and bored from the lack of costumers. The Work Bench was quiet, aside from the slow music that played from the afar speakers in the ceiling and the mixture of faint TV voices from the electronics. She sighed and slouched backwards, allowing her eyes to wander. She quickly straightened up to the sound of a cart being pushed near. She looked up to find The Devil at her check out, with a cart that had only a few things huddled together in the child seat. "Oh great." Amber huffed in annoyance. She flipped the switch to 'OFF' on her register light. "Sorry, I'm closed." She sneered, and tilted her head in a mocking smile. The Devil frowned, "Well, I'm already here, you may as well _check me out._" He placed the small amount of items onto the counter and pushed them toward her. Amber could see that he wasn't willing to leave, so she sighed and began to scan the items. She punched in numbers on the cash register keyboard, "…6.66" She murmured. The Devil grinned and held out the exact amount in crisp dollar bills and shiny new change. As she reached to take the money, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her close, "You have no choice. Either you do your job, or I take your mother." He threatened, his eyes piercing through hers. Amber ripped her hand from his and stood back, "You can't take my mother, you have no power over her." She scowled.

Satan kept a straight and serious face, "If you refuse, you mother's soul becomes forfeit. So I suggest you get to work if you're not willing to accept the consequences." He smiled again and chuckled vainly. The blood rushed into Amber's face as she stared at him in pure rage. "You're a coward." She dropped her arms to her sides and stood to face him. Just as The Devil was leaving, he slowly pivoted to face her, his eyes shrunk into little slits. He failed to intimidate her. Amber was one person who could not be intimidated so easily. "You're a coward, threatening me with my own mother. You think you're going to win, using my loved ones as a personal shield? You're nothing but a pitiful coward." She held herself back from crying. She was very sensitive and emotional, but didn't like to show it. She knew she couldn't manipulate herself out of this situation, but she was going to argue the point, (like always). The Devil smirked, "You've got guts, kid. Not many people can get away with talking to me like that. I'll give you props, but you don't know when to stop." He took a few steps closer to her, "I'm not going to keep on coddling you, Amber. The next time I have to tell you, you are going regret it." He nodded and let out a small laugh as he walked out The Work Bench exit with a plastic bag on his arm. As he left, Amber let out a loud and frustrated snarl. She grabbed her purse from under the counter and slung it over her shoulder. "I have to go, Andi. Tell Ted I'm having a family emergency." She rushed out the exit and to her car.

Sam pulled up behind Amber in his Prius, with Sock in the passenger seat. "Amber!" Sam rolled down the window. Amber jumped and turned around. "Sam!" She ran up to him, "Hey we got some dirt on Robert Mason. Get in." Sam elbowed Sock to get in the back so Amber could sit up front. Sock sighed and scrambled into the back seat. Amber ran around the front of the car and got in. "Satan is a whore." She said at random whilst buckling her seat belt. Sam laughed, "I guess he told you about the whole 'mother's soul becomes forfeit' deal, huh?" He pressed the gas and they were soon out of there. She nodded and then ran her fingers through her hair. "This sucks… I can't believe this is really happening to me. I mean, what the Hell did I do to deserve this?" 

Sam shrugged, "You were born."

"You make it sound so simple." Amber rested her head in the palm of her hand whilst looking out the window. "This is the last thing I need right now! The Devil keeps bugging me, my mom sold my soul to him before I was born… and God could've prevented it but _NOO." _She continued to ramble. She obviously needed to vent. 

Sam knew how she felt, he's been through the whole thing, (and still is). 

After a bit of venting, Sam turned into a neighborhood, "Wilbur Hollow" and parked in front of a small ranch house on Mercury Street. "Where are we?" Amber asked, looking around. "Ok, turns out that Robert Mason was murdered by one of his victims, Amelia Taint, who is still alive and lives here. We figure the soul will sooner or later show up here for revenge, if he hasn't already." Sam pulled the emergency break and turned off the engine. "Now what?" Amber unbuckled her seat belt. "STAKE OUT!" Sock jumped and shook the car. "Oh goody. I love waiting." She folded her arms and leaned back into the seat.


	7. First Catch

The sun finally set, and the moon rose up into the heavily clouded sky. "Looks like it's gonna rain." Sam peered out the window. Amber played with her hair, wrapping it around her finger, "That makes this even _more _interesting." She said sarcastically. Sock had nodded off and was lightly snoring. His mouth open, with a string of drool trickling from the corner of his lip. "Sock, get up!" Amber smacked him on the thigh, making him jolt up, "Mommy?" He squealed and looked around, half asleep and smacking his lips. "No, stake out." Sam laughed.

Only about 10 minutes later, a shadowed figure came into sight, walking up the front yard of Amelia Taint's house. "Hey, look!" Amber whispered and patted Sam on the shoulder, pointing at the figure. "Get the vessel!" She nearly shouted. Sam reached under his seat and pulled out the BB gun. "This is your job, Amber. Go kick some soul ass." He handed her the gun and smiled. "Oh joy." Amber took the gun and quietly stepped out of the car. She hesitated back toward Sam. He waved his hands to shoo her on. The shadowed figure got closer to the porch. Amber huffed and stood up straight, "Hey Mason!" She called out, stepping around the front of the Prius. The figure jumped and turned around; standing crouched over like a Hockey goalie. Amber took a step closer, wielding the BB gun in front of her, now holding it with two arms like a rifle. She cocked the gun and aimed at the soul, but it was too dark she couldn't get a good shot. Suddenly the porch light flashed on, and revealed Robert Mason just enough. Amber and Mason stood face to face, several feet apart. She closed one eye and aimed with the other, her finger on the trigger. Within a split second, she pressed the trigger and a swirling black vortex shot out of the gun. It appeared to be a net of ectoplasm that blanketed over the escaped soul, and closed around him. It dragged him back to his doom, through the muzzle of the gun. Once the soul was sucked into the gun, Amber dropped it, stunned by her own eyes. "Dude! That is some serious gun powder to do something like that!"

Sam and Sock darted out of the car, "Congratulations! You caught your first escaped soul!" Sam said and patted her on the back. Sock just stood there grinning like an idiot, "That was AWESOME! Do it again!" He said.

Amber jumped up and squealed, "That _was _awesome!" She giggled. Sock wrapped his arms around Amber's torso and lifted her up into the air. She screamed and laughed at the same time, "Put me down!" She held onto his shoulders as he set her down. "You are now officially a Reaper." Sam smiled as he picked up the BB gun.

"What in the world is going on out here?" An older woman's voice broke through the celebration. Amelia Taint stood on the porch in her slippers and robe. Amber, Sam and Sock all turned their heads to face her, and then they rushed back to the car and got in, driving away, the tires shrieking as they turned out the neighborhood.

The next day…

"Place the vessel on the mat." Gladys said dully, sliding the black rubber mat out toward Amber, Sam and Sock. Amber set down the BB gun and smiled as Gladys picked it up and dropped it into a transparent tube that rose up out of the counter. She shut it with a lid, and the tube automatically went back into hiding inside the counter. "Cool, you're a demon?" Amber stared at Gladys's horns that rested beneath her brown bangs. "No duh." Gladys kept her dull tone. "This is Amber. She's new to the whole Reaper thing." Sam cocked his head toward Amber. "New, huh?" Gladys pulled the mat back over the hidden tube, and rested her elbows on it. "You must be tough for the boss to give you a gun for your first vessel." She slightly smiled. Amber raised her eyebrows, "Well it was just a BB gun… no big deal really." She shrugged. "Hey, _his _first was a mini-vac." Gladys shifted her eyes toward Sam and then back to Amber.

Amber looked at Sam and laughed, "A mini-vac?" She asked.

Sam folded his arms, "It was a Dirt Devil!" He whined. Amber stifled her laugh, "Three words: Ther-a-py." She coughed. Gladys let out a snicker, "Next!" She called out and stood up straight.

Amber, Sam and Sock made their way out of the DMV.

Later that night, Amber hung out with Sam, Sock, Ben and Andi at the bar.

They each bought Amber a shot, to celebrate her first catch.

"Chug chug, chug!" Everybody chanted as Amber sat facing a table lined with shots. She started with the first, and stopped halfway through. Everyone continued to chant, louder and louder. "_CHUG CHUG, CHUG!" _

Amber heard a familiar voice in the crowd, and turned around to find The Devil, chanting along with everyone else. She smirked and then finished off the rest of her shots. Everyone cheered and then resumed talking and drinking their own.

Amber turned back around and walked over to him. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" The Devil patted her on the shoulder as they made their way over to the counter, and sat down. "How'd you like the special effects?" He grinned.

"Ok… I have to admit… it was FREAKING AWESOME!" She laughed.

"Well, I'm proud of you. Good work, soldier." He saluted her and then ordered her a beer. "Ha ha, ha." Amber scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm so gonna get wasted tonight." She said, cracked her knuckles. All The Devil could do in response to that was smile even more. "Don't get too hammered, because I have another job for you to do." Satan continued to grin.

"Yippee." Amber took a sip of her beer. "Well, do I get like a bazooka this time or something?" She wiped her lips with the sleeve of her AC/DC top.

"Something like that." He began to laugh, as Amber stared at him, perplexed.


	8. Punishment

Amber dragged her feet across the hardwood floors, the soles of her shoes scraped as she made it down the hallway, and into her room, shutting and locking the door behind her. She had a little bit too much to drink, enough for her to hand Sam her keys and have him give her a ride home. 

Amber let herself fall back onto her bed. She kicked off her sneakers and rolled onto her side. 

The next morning, Amber awoke to a heavy knocking on her bedroom door. Her head throbbed with pain, as she slowly pulled the covers over her, cocooning herself within them. "Go away!" She moaned and nuzzled into her pillow. The knocking continued, followed by a familiar voice; "Amber get up! Unlock the door, c'mon!" The voice seeped through the wooden door and into Amber's ears.

Amber groaned as she peeked out from beneath the blanket, "Aubrie? What are you doing here?" She chewed up her words as she yawned and got up. "Knocking on your door, now open up!" Aubrie pounded her fist on the door. "Ok! Stop, I'm hung over you asshole!" Amber slid her ankle-socked feet over the bare floors and unlocked the door. Aubrie burst inside with a vessel box in her left arm. Amber sat back on her bed before she noticed what her little sister was carrying. Aubrie let the box drop onto the floor with a loud sharp _THUD. _Amber clutched her head with both hands and winced at the noise. "This was on my porch." Aubrie kicked the box toward Amber. "Wait… what? Why would it be on your porch?" Amber yawned again. "I don't know, you tell me." Aubrie folded her arms. "It's my job, not yours… maybe the demon mailman mixed up our addresses?" Amber slowly leaned over and picked the vessel box up, placing it on her lap. "Why would the demon mailman even know my address? Wait, there's demon mailmen?" Aubrie sat on the edge of the bed next to Amber. "I don't know, and you're related to me. Dumb-ass." Amber flipped the latch on the vessel box and opened it up to reveal a pinwheel. "What the hell?" She lifted the pinwheel out of the box and ogled at it. Aubrie let out a snicker, "A pinwheel? That's _gay._" She giggled. Amber glanced at Aubrie and sighed taking her attention back to the vessel. "I thought The Devil thought I was tough… as a matter of fact… THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A BAZOOKA! This isn't even a nuclear weapon… the most damage this thing could do is give you a paper cut." She slammed it back into the vessel box and shut it. "This must be a mistake… and oh, my head!" Amber fell back onto her pillow, "It feels like I just had brain surgery." She pressed her palms onto her eyes. "You couldn't have brain surgery Amber; you don't have enough brain for it to work." Aubrie sneered. Amber lifted her hand up and peered at her sister with one eye. "What is it with people insulting my brain? Jeez." She took her pillow and pressed it over her face. "SUICIDE!" She shouted, muffled by the pillow. 

"Good. I get to be an only child now." Aubrie giggled.

Amber sat up and tossed the pillow aside.

She sluggishly stepped into her jeans and into a pair of sneakers. "I need to talk to The Devil." 

"I thought you were hung over?" Aubrie lay back in the bed. "I'll survive… somehow." Amber snorted. "Mind house-sitting for me while I'm gone? There's fresh junk food in the fridge, I know how much you love that crap." She laughed, pulling a Metallica T-shirt over her head. "Wee. Free junk food." Aubrie stuck out her tongue. "Oh, and no wild parties… just semi-wild parties, 'K?" Amber smiled. "Sure." Aubrie crossed her arms behind her head. 

Amber grabbed her purse and headed out the door. 

"_TNT, I'm dynamite! TNT and I'll win the fight-" _Amber's cell phone rang.

"Hell-o, this is the lead minion of Hell. How may I eat your soul?" Amber answered as she got into her car, leaving the top up this time. "Wow. You should have your own hotline." The Devil replied. Amber sighed in disgust, "Yeah, sure, whatever. What's with the vessel?" She scowled. The Devil appeared next to her in the passenger seat. Amber flipped her phone shut and jammed it back into her pocket. "Cute, huh?" The Devil laughed. Amber rolled her eyes as she pulled out of the driveway. "Yeah. That's the point! I'm not 5 years old you know; I can actually handle something a bit more… I don't know, UNGAY?" She frowned and (again) put the petal to the metal. The Devil grinned, "What, you don't like it? I actually happen to find pinwheels very entertaining." He said. "Good for you. I happen to _not _find them entertaining, because I'm not retarded like _some _people I know." She shifted her eyes to him. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't put me in the 'people' category. I'm the Devil, not one of your little playmates." The Devil snarled. "Oh whoop-de-do for you, _Lucy." _Amber laughed at the thought of calling the Devil 'Lucy'.

Satan didn't reply. He was obviously a bit angry now. "Aw, did I hurt your poor _wittle_ feelings? Get over it." Amber kept her eyes on the road. "I should punish you for your lack of respect." The Devil frowned. "You know what?" Amber glanced at him, "_Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. _There is NO way in Hell you could make my life any worse by a one of your puny punishments. Bring it on, because to me, you're still just that little red man with a pitch fork on someone's shoulder influencing them to do bad things." Amber smirked, (mouthing off The Devil, oh, she felt like such a badass). The Devil fixated his intense, icy blue eyes on her. "Is that so? You really think that?" 

Suddenly Amber lost control of the car and swerved (appeared) onto a desert road in the middle of nowhere. Agonizing screams could be heard in the afar, mounds of sand and dirt surrounded her. The sky was a deep purple, with thin black clouds that were scattered across it. "Where are we?" Amber tried to stop the car, but it continued to drive itself forward. The Devil smiled and disappeared as a wall of fire came into view. Amber stared in awe, "What the fuck is happening?" She screamed as the car plunged itself into the flames. She could feel the heat of the fire as the car began to melt. Soon she felt her skin burning; flames ran across her arms and devoured her flesh. The skin around the flames turned charcoal black and flaked off, into dust. Amber screamed in excruciating pain as the fire reached her face and she felt her eyeballs dry up like raisins and shrivel out of their sockets, disintegrating. She wouldn't die; she could feel the pain, nonstop. It just kept on coming on stronger and stronger. It was unbearable. Like no other human being would ever feel in a lifetime. "Please!" She shrieked, her voice gurgling, drowning within her own blood. Her teeth were burnt and rotting inside her gums. Every single detail, everything that was happening to her, all mixed in an unimaginable fury of emotional and physical pain. She couldn't stand it, although she would not die, she was left to feel this for eternity.

Amber found herself screaming inside her car. She opened her eyes, and was still in her driveway. Aubrie came running out the front door, "What's wrong? Oh my God, are you ok? What's…? Amber?" She opened the driver's side. Amber sat with an expression of pure shock on her face. She began to breath, after what seemed like forever since she took a breath without fire filling her lungs. She turned to face her little sister and then wrapped her arms around her in a hug. _How long was I gone? Oh God, it felt like years._

Amber tightened her grip on Aubrie and began to cry, tears immediately filled her eyes, pouring out like buckets of water that ran down her face. The tears sizzled on her skin, cooling off the remnants of pain. "Oh God, Aubrie, it was horrible." She choked on her own words. "What was horrible?" Aubrie asked; patting Amber's back. The smell of sulfur had filled Amber's nostrils; she felt something ball up inside her stomach and then roll up into her throat and into her mouth. Amber pushed Aubrie away as vomit spewed from her lips. Aubrie stood on the grass, back from the driveway, which was now blanketed in a colorful stream of fresh puke. Aubrie was surprised that she didn't get any on her. "How much _did _you drink last night? Jesus Christ, you must've had a freaking tub of beer!" Aubrie stepped over the vomit and grabbed Amber's hands, pulling her to her feet. "You need some rest." 

"No, I… I'm fine, really. I just… I don't know." Amber continuously swallowed and burped. Aubrie stared at her sister in confusion. "You just barfed up like an ocean!" She flattened out her arms, motioning them over the vomit between them. "Water. Just get me a glass of water. I'm fine." Amber caught her breath and tried to calm herself. Her mouth was dryer than a desert. Aubrie darted inside the house and back out with a tall glass full of cool water. "Here." She leaned over the driveway and handed Amber the water. Amber gulped it down within seconds and then licked the sweat off the glass. She handed it back to Aubrie and sat back inside her car. "Get me the vessel." She held the door open and leaned back into the seat. "What? That little pinwheel?" Aubrie laughed. "Just get it!" Amber demanded, taking deep breaths through her mouth and exhaling out her nose. 


	9. Skizzo The Clown

"Sam!" Amber called out as she got out of her car. Sam was outside The Work Bench organizing a display.

"Hey." Sam stopped what he was doing and wiped his hands on his apron.

"I need your help, I have another vessel but I didn't get any information about the soul." Amber pulled out the pinwheel from her oversized purse and handed it to Sam.

Sam analyzed it, "A pinwheel?" He snickered.

Amber rolled her eyes and snatched it away from him, "Yeah. It's a pinwheel, but _I don't have a problem with it!_" Amber emphasized her words and looked around whilst saying them. Sam furrowed his brow and smiled, "Ok…" He looked around. "You're acting a little bit weird today."

"Yeah, whatever." Amber sighed

"You know, I got a vessel too. I can talk to The Devil about it… see what's going on." Sam smiled and then resumed what he was doing. Amber nodded and shoved the vessel back into her purse as she went inside to start her shift.

Ted came marching toward Amber as she stepped through the inside doors. "Amber, you're late." He folded his arms and frowned.

"Yeah I know Ted, sorry." She pushed past him and made her way to her register (barely acknowledging the fact that he was angry). Comparing Ted with The Devil as her boss, there was no competition. Ted wasn't exactly… scary. "Hey! You better watch it. One more time I find that you're late, you'll be working overtime!" Ted pointed his finger in the air, in superiority. Amber put her apron on over her Metallica top and didn't bother looking up at Ted. "Yeah, ok Ted. Whatever." She continued to set up her station. Ted slowly lowered his hand and dropped it by his side. "O-K… then…" He turned back around and power walked to his office.

"Hey Amber!" Andi waved from behind, at her register. Amber smiled and waved back.

Sam finally finished setting up the display… it was a life-size cardboard figure of Ted, smiling and holding his arm out towards The Work Bench entrance with a speech balloon aside his face reading, "Welcome to The Work Bench! Memorial Day sale going on now!"

In addition, beside the cardboard Ted, sat a brand new stainless steel grill, lid open, with a paper flap hanging from the lid reading, "Memorial Day Sale! Marked down from 699.00 to 399.00! Sale ends 5/27/08!"

Inside the grill, centered on the grate, lay a small piece of paper and in all red capital letters read, "BUY ME!"

Sam wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and sighed. "Nice work, Sammy boy." The Devil appeared behind him and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam jumped, "Oh man. You gotta stop doing that." He almost fell back onto the cardboard Ted. The Devil smiled, "You know, I would've expected a blow up doll, but hey, whatever floats your boat." He motioned his arm, pointing at the display and laughed. Sam scoffed and stepped away from all that he just set up. "What do you want?"

The Devil stuffed his hands into his pants pockets, "Oh, I just thought I'd help out a little with your soul trouble. But I can see that you're busy, so I'll just come back later." He laughed once again, full of himself.

"Speaking of souls," Sam started, ignoring Satan's comment, "Amber needs some help too. She didn't get any jump starts about the soul she's supposed to catch."

The Devil smiled, "You don't need to worry about that."

"Ok, whatever." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Good, now this soul is a dirty one. Skizzo the Clown." The Devil chuckled, "He was a pedophile, but very famous around these parts for his _funny business_._" _Satan laughed heartily at his own joke, "Yeah, ok, get to the point." Sam hurried him.

The Devil immediately frowned, "He was known to give his chosen victims a pinwheel, usually at the parties he attended, the birthday boy or girl would receive one, for later entertainment."

"Wait. A pinwheel? Amber's vessel is a pinwheel… how come the vessels have some sort of relation to the souls now, when they never did before?" Sam asked with suspicion.

"Oh, no reason, really. I just think it adds a little bit more edge to the shock value when the soul sees what he's being sent back to Hell with." The Devil cackled, slipping his hand inside his suit jacket and pulling out a yellow folder.

Sam tried to snatch the folder away, but failed.

"What's your hurry, Sammy? I thought we were having some good quality time together." The Devil's smile returned vigorously as Sam continued to grab at the folder but once again failing to take it away from him.

"What's the magic word?" The Devil taunted, his eyes squinting smaller as his smile grew wider.

"C'mon!" Sam huffed in annoyance like a child that didn't get what he wanted.

"Nope, try again!" The Devil snickered.

Sam finally sighed, "Please?" He pleaded, giving a pleasant yet pathetic expression on his face.

"Oh, ho, ho! Not the puppy eyes again. Ok, here." The Devil handed Sam the folder.

"Thanks a lot." Sam said sarcastically, thumbing through it.

"You should be thankful. I don't just give things away, you know. Ah, but what the hell, you deserve it." Satan, patted Sam on the back, and as Sam turned around, he was gone.

He sighed and shook his head, returning to the file.

"Skizzo the Clown AKA Ken Morris." Sam mumbled, "Prosecuted for Indecencies with a Child and Homicide" Sam wrinkled his nose at the idea, _what a freaking pervert! _

"He got the needle." Sam again, mumbled to himself as he skimmed through Skizzo's file.


	10. A Deal

AN -- I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while… there's been a lot going on in my life, and I've been really stressed out. I haven't had time to write, and on top of that, I've had no plot ideas. But don't worry, I know how it feels to be hanging on the edge of a chapter, and waiting for the next to come along. I'll do my best to keep adding. :

Just as Amber had left for work, Aubrie had gone back inside the house, hoping that her sister was ok.

She shut and locked the front door and made her way into the living room, where she sat on the couch and switched on the TV.

Spongebob's high-pitched voice made Aubrie jump unexpectedly. "Stupid Spongebob." She scoffed and changed the channel. Just as she began to flip through the TV stations, the doorbell rang. Aubrie sighed and got to her feet, marching toward the door. She peeked out the peephole and saw that no one was there. She decided it was probably a ding-dong-ditch session so she turned back around for the living room. The doorbell whistled through the house once again. "Ok, ok… you wanna play ding-dong-ditch, eh?" Aubrie swiftly grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, to find an older man standing on the porch in front of her. She opened the full glass screen door and peered out of it, only holding it open enough to stick her head out. "Yeah?" She asked, looking up at him. He was at least 5 inches taller than she was. "Why hello there." He grinned, looking down at her. Aubrie clutched the handle of the screen door tightly and furrowed her brow, "Can I help you?"

"Oh, yes… I'm looking for an Aubrie?" He smiled, curling his upper lip over his front teeth… baring them in a thick grin.

Aubrie took a second to gather her thoughts, trying to remember if she knew him or not. "I'm her… do I know you?" She frowned, nothing coming to mind.

The man just continued to smile…

Amber attended to a costumer, ringing up their items one by one.

"That'll be 54.92"

The woman took out her wallet, and thumbed through a variety of credit cards.

She chose one, and pulled it out of its place.

"Will that be credit or debit?" Amber asked; readying herself to punch in the right key before the woman could slide her card.

"Credit." She replied. Amber hit the "Credit" button on the touch screen and the woman traced the card through the slider.

The receipt was printed; Amber snatched it and handed it to the woman, before bagging her purchases and placing them back into the cart.

"So, how do you know my sister, again?" Aubrie asked, setting down a cup of coffee in front of the man, who sat across from her at the dining room table.

"Oh, I'm just a friend from the past… although, just recently I have acquired her as one of my employees." He explained, disregarding the fresh steaming coffee in front of him.

Aubrie sat back in the chair and folded her arms.

"Really? She works for you at The Work Bench, then?" She asked in suspicion.

"Oh no, she didn't tell you?" The man began to laugh, leaning over the table towards her. "Tell me what?" Aubrie was beginning to understand, but just to make sure, she played stupid.

"I'm the Devil!" He laughed so hard, he began to wheeze. He patted Aubrie on the shoulder, as he did Sam at their first encounter.

Aubrie frowned, and her jaw dropped. _So this wasn't just some scam of hers. It's really true…_

She let her arms drop to her sides, standing up. "You're the Devil? Holy shit!" Aubrie cupped her hand over her mouth and began to laugh.

"Actually, _unholy." _The Devil snickered.

Aubrie tried to stop laughing but it was just automatic. _Possibly related to Sock's laughing-when-nervous characteristic. _

She finally calmed herself, and caught her breath. The Devil sat in place, his legs crossed and hands rested on his knees with his fingers locked. A smile still plastered on his face.

"So, wait, what are you doing here? What do you want with me?"

Aubrie wiped her eyes.

"Well, I just thought we could make a deal." His lips curled up once again in a smile.


	11. Team Work and Scheme Work

Sam continued reading the file as he walked through The Work Bench entrance, and toward Amber. 

"Amber, I think I know what the Devil's up to…" He said, lifting his head up to face her.

Amber made her way around the counter, "What's that?" She asked, peering at the file.

"This is our new assignment." He smiled, "The Devil didn't tell me, but I think that you and I have to work at catching this soul together. You got a pinwheel for a vessel right?" 

"Yeah…" Amber looked at him, confused. "What'd you get?"

"You have every right to laugh." Sam led her into the break room, and opened his locker.

"Well?" Amber prepared herself to laugh; she knew it had to be something ridiculous. 

Sam reached in and pulled out a hand held fan. It was plastic and Styrofoam.

Amber took a minute to suck up the silence then she burst out laughing, "HA! You got a faggo-fan!" She pounded her feet on the floor and jumped up and down.

"Ok! OK! I didn't laugh _that_ hard… c'mon give me a break. You got a pinwheel!"

"Yeah, but you got a mini-fan… is everything you get _mini _Sam?" She laughed even harder at her own joke.

Sam frowned, "Thanks. That hurt my poor little feelings."

He joked. Amber lightly punched him on the shoulder, "I bet I did." She snickered.

"Ok, back to business…" Sam pressed the on button on the fan and suddenly a powerful swirling wind filled the room, and blew papers around uncontrollably. He switched it off, and looked at Amber, whose hair now looked like a troll doll's hair.

"That's… a strong mini-fan." Amber squeaked.

Sam just nodded. 

Sock barged in with a Butterfinger in his mouth, "Whoa! What happened in hear?" He dropped the Butterfinger and frowned.

"Oh my- HAIR!" He jumped at Amber, "What happened to your hair?" He asked; studying it like a scientist would a test subject. 

"Sam's vessel." Amber said; patting down her hair and shaking it back to normal.

"I love you." Sock shook his head. "Everyone loves me." Amber stuck her tongue out.

"Ok you guys, shut up. We need to pay attention and find out how the hell we're supposed to catch the soul!" Sam huffed.

Amber and Sock ignored him.

"That's all? If I give you my soul, you'll give my sister's soul back and she won't have to work for you anymore?" Aubrie asked, still sitting across the table from Satan.

The Devil nodded and smiled. "What's the catch?" Aubrie stared at him, not breaking eye contact. "Catch?" He let out a slight chuckle. "Ok, I'm not that stupid. After all the years being around my sister, I've learned that there's always a catch. This isn't the first deal I've made in my life you know… and dealing with you isn't much different from Amber." Aubrie folded her arms and frowned.

"There's no catch. Just sign on the dotted line and your big sister is free." The Devil kept his poker face on.

"You make it sound so simple… I need details before I sign anything."

"She's taught you well. But details, details… just so many details, by the time we're done with details, it'll be next week. Just sign and I'll let her go."

"You sound exactly like Amber." Aubrie didn't seem shocked at all, no wonder their mother always called Amber her "Redheaded Devil".

"So what do you think we're supposed to do with two vessels and one soul? How are we supposed to combine them? They don't even relate!" Amber sat hunched over in her chair in the break room.

"Well, pinwheels need wind to operate, right? Maybe if we use the fan to make the pinwheel work… it'll somehow capture the soul?" Sam suggested.

"We could give it a try… now where'd you put that file?"

Amber asked, flicking the pinwheel's blades to make it spin.

"Right…" Sam turned around, and suddenly the file appeared in front of Amber on the table. "I could get used to this." She laughed picking it up, flipping through it.

Sam sighed and waited for her to finish reading.

"A child molesting clown named Skizzo? That's original." Amber mumbled, slapping the folder back onto the table.

"So how do we find him?" She flapped the folder's cover up and down. 

"I guess we just look in the paper for a birthday party, he's bound to be at one." Sam got to his feet and pulled off his apron, tossing it to the open locker. 

"Alright, then let's go… but first I've got to make a stop back at my house."

Amber grabbed her purse, ripped off her apron and left it on the floor behind her.

Aubrie sighed, "I don't know…" 

"It's now or never, make your choice. Don't you want to help Amber? It's the least you could do…" The Devil sat relaxed, arms now folded and his legs still crossed.

"The least? How could this be the least-" Aubrie was cut off as the front door opened and Amber stepped inside.

Aubrie turned her head toward the living room, peering over the bar at Amber. She whipped her head back across the table to find nobody there, just an empty seat and a fresh cup of coffee.

"Amber!" She jumped to her feet and raced for her big sister.

"Hey, what's with the excitement?" Amber almost fell backwards as Aubrie hugged her.

"Who were you talking to?" Amber asked patting her sister on the head, and scooting away from her grip.

"Talking to? Uh… nobody, why?"

"I heard voices from outside, and no the ones in my head are on vacation." Amber laughed, placing her purse on the bar.

"Hey, whose coffee is this? I know it isn't yours." Amber looked down at her reflection in the cup; steam arose from the sides.

"Yeah it is!" Aubrie swung around the corner and snatched the cup, taking a big sip. She tried not to make a face, but she hated black coffee.

"Uhuh, when'd you start drinking black coffee?"

Amber grabbed the cup away from her sister, and tossed it into the sink.

"Ok, if you must know, I hired an escort and he is hiding in your bedroom, naked." Aubrie sneered.

"Is he hot?" Amber laughed. "No seriously, who was here, I know I heard somebody else's voice, and it sure as hell wasn't one of your little friends. Plus, I can tell when you lie, you know that." She sat down at the table and looked up at her little sister, full knowledge that she was hiding something.

"In fact… that voice sounded a lot older too…" Amber thought for a second and then realization was written all over her face. "What was _he_ doing here?" She stood up straight.

Aubrie came to terms and leaned against the counter as Amber got in her face. "Nothing… we were just talking and…" 

"Aubrie, I don't want you to have anything to do with him! He's dangerous and… you don't need… just don't!" Amber grabbed two handfuls of her hair and pulled, letting out a guttural bellow. 

"I was just trying to help… and plus, he came here!"

Aubrie began to cry, tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.

"Help? And wait, _he _came _here?" _Amber placed her hand on her forehead, trying to calm herself before she went on a rage rampage.

"Yeah! He said if I gave him my soul, he'd let you go. You'd get your soul back and wouldn't have to work for him anymore! The whole shebang!" Aubrie explained.

"No! I will deal with that myself; I don't need your help! Just go home, and if you see him again DO NOT TALK TO HIM!" Amber snarled.

"Fine. I just wanted to help you, and you can't even thank me for trying? Screw you." Aubrie ran out the front door, and into her car.

Amber screamed, she was stressed out enough. She didn't need to have to worry about her little sister too. "Damn it!"

Sam and Sock waited in the Prius, parked by the curb.

Amber grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She rushed to shut and lock it, before getting back into the Prius.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, whilst Amber buckled her seat belt.

"It was nothing, just drive." She scowled, looking out the window.

Sam and Sock traded glances and then they drove off.


	12. Pushover

Sock scanned the paper for any birthday party ads. "Oh! Oh! I found something!" Sock continuously jabbed the newspaper with his forefinger. Amber reached into the back and snatched the paper from him. "Casey's 10th birthday party celebration? Her first day of double digits, looking for a professional clown to entertain the children."

Amber read aloud.

"Sounds too good to be true." Sam said in unison with Skizzo the Clown, who read the same ad in the paper at the same time.

Skizzo laughed maniacally. His eyes glazed over and turned blood red. The wind carried his laughter across the town…

"What's that noise?" Amber asked, dreamily.

"What noise?" Sam looked at her from his peripheral vision. Amber began to slump over. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she slowly lost consciousness. "Amber? Amber, are you ok?" Sam used his right arm to nudge her, but she didn't respond. "Sock! Amber passed out, do something!" Sam looked into the rearview mirror for Sock, but he too was slumped over in an unconscious state.

Sam stopped the car, and pulled the emergency break. "Amber! Wake up!" Sam grabbed her shoulders and shook her rapidly. "Amber!"

It was no use. Sam didn't even bother to try to wake up Sock, because whatever was wrong with Amber was more than likely wrong with Sock, and he'd be harder to wake up.

"Why me?" Sam sighed, putting the car back in drive.

Aubrie sped up from behind a blue Hyundai Elantra, which was going at least 10 miles under the speed limit. "Come on! Damn it!" Aubrie slammed her palm onto the horn, but the Elantra ignored her and continued to go 35 MPH.

"Ugh!" She pushed back into her seat impatiently. "Ram them in the ass and cut 'em off!" The Devil appeared in the passenger seat, smiling.

"Whoa!" Aubrie swerved and fishtailed. She straightened her car out and the car behind her held down the horn. Aubrie put up her middle finger out the window.

"Nice." Satan smirked.

"What are you doing here? Amber said not to talk to you, so there's no point in bothering me."

Aubrie tried to focus on her driving. "Amber said. Your own sister who didn't even appreciate the idea of you willing to give away your soul just so she could have her life back, and Amber said. Wow, what a pushover." The Devil chuckled and straightened his tie.

Aubrie glanced at him and then back at the road.

"You're going to listen to her, after all that? And all I'm doing is trying to make things better… y'know, I'm not really a bad guy, Brie… can I call you Brie? Ok. By having Amber work for me, she's really making the world a better place… saving lives… and sending the real bad guys back to Hell, where they belong." The Devil smiled, his manipulation skills didn't work on Amber, but Aubrie was a whole other story.

_I'm not a pushover. _Aubrie thought, keeping silent.

"So, how about that deal, the offer still stands." The Devil put his hand on her shoulder, sending a cold zap down Aubrie's spine. As if someone placed an ice cube beneath her skin, and traced it down her back until she felt sick in the pit of her stomach.

"Why should I help her? She always gets what she wants; everything always goes her way. Well, maybe she should be taught a lesson and deal with her own problems for once." Aubrie glanced at him again, and then back at the road.

"Hey, no skin off my nose! I keep a soul either way, so it doesn't matter to me." The Devil shrugged.

Aubrie looked out the window, down toward the oncoming cars on the other side of the two-way street. She waited until the next one passed, and then stuck her head out the window to see if anymore were coming. She pressed the gas a little, and swerved onto the other side and cut off the car in front of her.

"Oh! Better be careful, you don't want to have a head on collision with another car." The Devil laughed.

"Shut up." Aubrie kept her eyes on the road, speeding a little until she couldn't see the blue Hyundai Elantra anymore.

Sam pulled up in front of The Work Bench. He got out and ran inside, looking for Andi.

He waved her down, and motioned for her to follow him back to the car.

"Oh my God, what happened?" Andi grasped Amber by her arms, flipping one arm around her shoulder to help balance her weight.

"I-I don't know! They both just fainted at the same time." Sam said whilst pulling at Sock's shirt, trying to get him out of the car.


	13. Spellbound

Aubrie pulled up at her house, and parked in the driveway.

She looked to the passenger seat; it was empty. She sighed and got out, making her way up to the door.

"I'm home." Aubrie called out as she entered the house. "Mom? Dad?" She peered around the corner and into the kitchen. Nobody was there except for her rottweiler, Ellie, who lay sprawled out beneath the dining room table.

Aubrie shrugged and turned back around, trotting up the stairs. "Mom?" Her voice bounced off the walls that encased her. No answer. She peeked into her mom's office, empty. In her bedroom, empty. In her parent's bedroom, empty. "Hello? Mom, dad?" She looked into the bathroom. Nothing.

_What the hell… maybe they left a note… they usually do._

Aubrie rushed back downstairs and back into the kitchen. She searched the counters and table for a note, but there was nothing.

"Ok, where the hell could they be?" All the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. No calls, no texts, no messages. She flipped it open and dialed her mom's cell number.

No answer.

"God!" Aubrie tossed her phone across the room (known, just like her sister, for her temper). "Great. Satan is stalking me, and my parents disappeared. What more could happen to fuck up my life?" She talked to herself as she made her way back up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Andi dragged Amber toward a lawn chair in front of The Work Bench, and sat her down, then jogged back to Sam to help him with Sock.

"Ok, that's it. No more Doritos for him." Sam struggled to lift Sock up as Andi grabbed his arm and Sam the other.

"Yeah." Andi agreed as they put Sock in the chair next to Amber.

"How could they both faint like that? It makes no sense." Andi asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I don't know… maybe it had to do with that noise Amber heard right before she fainted?" Sam scrubbed his fingers through his hair.

"She heard a noise? Did she tell you what it was?" Andi asked.

"No! She fainted right after she told me! And I didn't hear anything… but Sock must've heard it."

"Well we need to find out what did this to them… because they might not be the only ones." Andi pulled her apron over her head and rolled it up.

"Maybe it was the soul." Sam mumbled. "Well where's your vessel? Let's catch it!" Andi said.

"We can't! I need Amber with me, because our vessels won't work unless we combine them." Sam stomped his foot in frustration.

Andi rolled her eyes, "Whatever. There's got to be a way."

"_What's going on?" Amber found herself on an empty street. Fog was thick in the air, and all that allowed her to see in the pitch darkness, was a single street lamp that towered over her, illuminating her in a dim yellow light._

"_You're under Skizzo's spell." A familiar voice stabbed her ears, and shattered the silence as if it were glass._

"_What do you want?" Amber snarled, balling her fists in the anger that rose up inside her. The Devil stepped into sight through the heavy wall of fog that surrounded her. He just smiled in response. "I have a bone to pick with you." Amber focused her eyes on him. Her anger was so sharp; it pierced through her eyes and into his._

"_Oh do you?" The Devil smirked, clasping his hands together._

"_Yeah. Who do you think you are going around my sister? You own me and that's enough. You leave my family alone!" She stood her ground, almost forgetting that he sent her to Hell before for "disrespecting" him… who knows what more he could do?_

"_It was strictly business." Satan's smile grew. Amber huffed through her nose like a bull that saw red._

_She couldn't hold it in. The angst within her flooded all her senses. Tears filled her eyes and within seconds, she found herself sitting on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. _

_The Devil stood there, watching her cry, amused. "Oh, hush now. You know me, that's what I do. And you're gonna have to get used to it." He leaned down and patted her on the back. "Why the fuck did God give me life? Just to be a pawn in your little game?" Amber held her knees under her chin and stared down at her feet._

"_Hey, there's a reason for everything… and the only reason I own you is because your mother is a little too easy for someone with her intelligence."_

_The Devil chuckled, folding his arms._

"_Why are you here anyway?" Amber asked, looking up at him._

"_To tell you how to work your next fugitive, of course!" He smiled, helping her up._

"_How the hell am I supposed to catch a soul when I'm unconscious?" _

"_You aren't." The Devil smiled._

Aubrie flopped onto her bed, and gazed up at the ceiling.

She let out a sigh, and slowly closed her eyes…

"_Aubrie!" Amber's voice spilled into Aubrie's ears. Aubrie found herself standing beneath a single street light, encased in a mass of thick fog._

"_Aubrie!" Amber repeated, she sounded so far away… "Aubrie, I need your help!" Amber appeared behind the wall of fog, her shadow was the only thing Aubrie could make out._

"_Amber? What's happening? Where are we?" Aubrie reached out for her sister, but found her feet glued to the asphalt._

"_I need you to do something for me. When you wake up, go to the Work Bench and find Sam. Tell him to give you the pinwheel. Use it to capture the soul… or I'll be stuck in here forever!" _

_Amber's shadow faded into the fog and Aubrie fluttered her eyelids… _and awoke, to find herself in her bedroom once again.

"I've got to help Amber" She jumped to her feet, raced down the stairs, and out the door.


	14. VIP

Aubrie tugged the emergency break in unison with her foot on the pedal. She hadn't bothered to buckle her seatbelt, so she needn't to _unbuckle _it before she shoved the door open and raced into The Work Bench entrance. Her car parked in the fire zone, the right front wheel of the white Chevy Celebrity, was turned slightly onto the curb at the walkway to the front doors. She left it running. An employee stepped in front of her, a mirror-practiced smile on his face. His hair was neat and his clothes too perfect. "Can I help you?" His pseudo smile never leaving his flawlessly flawed face. "Yes! Where's Sam?" She asked, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with a stressful worry. "Oliver? Break room I thi-" Before he could finish, Aubrie was already jogging toward the obvious.

She barged in with no warning, to find Sam, Andi and Ben standing over Amber and Sock's unconscious bodies.

They turned heads at once to face Aubrie, who had now shut the door behind her. "Is she ok?" She asked, now kneeling by her older sister's side. She moved a curled strand of hair from Amber's face. "Yeah. You're her sister, right?" Sam stared down at her. "Aubrie," Aubrie got to her feet and straightened out her plain top. "Are you Sam?" She kept glancing down at her sister.

"Yeah-"

"Ok. Amber told me to tell you to give me the pinwheel. She says I'm the only one that can use it, to help capture the soul… in order for her to wake up."

Sam and Andi exchanged glances and then looked back at Aubrie. Ben stood there puzzled, as he never really understood the whole "soul capturing" concept in the first place.

Sam quickly found Amber's purse and pulled out the pinwheel. He handed it to Aubrie with no question.

"Ok, then we need to go. School's out in…"

Sam looked at his watch, "10 minutes ago." He said.

"What are we gonna do?" Aubrie asked.

"We're going to a party." Sam answered her, making his way out the door, Andi and Ben following behind.

"Ok?" Aubrie rushed to catch up with them.

"_What do you think they're doing?" Sock asked Amber, sitting on the concrete, slouched over, flicking loose stones with his finger. _

"_Probably trying to figure out what's going on… if Aubrie didn't already tell them." Amber paced back and forth, kicking the stones that Sock flicked in her direction. _

_The street lamp flickered, dimming in and out. Amber stopped and looked up at the light. The lamp was so tall; the top wasn't visible. The light seeped through the fog around them, and when it would dim out, the darkness was so rich, that they couldn't even see their own noses in front of them. _

"_I really hope that light doesn't go out." Sock whimpered._

_Amber frowned, "I have a hunch, that if it does, the dark isn't something that we need to worry about." She slowly looked around. She sensed that they might not be the only ones in there._

Sam, Andi, Ben and Aubrie rushed out the exit.

"We'll take my car." Aubrie said, racing to it.

They shrugged and got inside.

"Alright. The party should be starting soon… so, take a right here." Sam motioned his hand at the next intersection.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Aubrie took the right.

"King's Recreation Center." Sam said.

"It's gonna be hard to catch this soul in front of all those people though." Ben stuck his head in between the drivers and passenger seat.

"We'll lure him somewhere secluded enough, if we can." Andi nodded.

_A low growling could be heard in the distance. Amber paused, and looked back up at the light, which continued to flicker, but more frequently now. Sock jumped up, "What was that?" he whipped his head in all directions. The growling got louder, with ever dimming of the light. _

"Sock. Brace yourself." Amber stared into the endless fog and pitch.

Sock squealed and whined at Amber's response.

Aubrie parked into the closest spot at the Rec. Center.

They all got out and made their way up toward the front door.

"Casey's 10th Birthday Party. Invitation Only." Ben read from a white sign on the entrance.

"We've got VIP." Sam held up his vessel, "C'mon." He led them inside.

Suddenly the lights turned out inside the Rec. Center, and a woman walked through a doorway with a candle adorned cake in her arms. The flames flickered and danced as the woman set the cake onto the table.

"Ready?" She began, "Happy birthday to you," Everyone joined in now, "happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Casey, happy birthday to you!" They all clapped as the girl in front of the cake, (obviously Casey), took in a deep breath and then blew out all the candles on her first try. "Yay!" They all clapped even harder now. "Yay!" Another voice shrieked out separately from the others, turning heads. Sam found the light switch and flipped it. There stood Skizzo the Clown, on top of one of the tables. He let out a droning laughter, which caused the beverages within their cups to pulsate. Sam, Andi, Ben and Aubrie all covered their ears in pain. "Don't listen to it!" Sam cried out, but it was too late. All the children and adults in the room fainted. Their limp bodies now scattered all over. Andi and Ben joined them. Sam and Aubrie were the only ones standing, aside from Skizzo, who stood in his colorful clown suit, and makeup. A grizzly grin stamped on his face, revealing yellow, crooked and rotten teeth within decomposing gums.

_The light hissed above Amber and Sock, and finally went out. _

"_Oh no." Amber's eyes widened, unable to adjust to the darkness. Sock grabbed Amber from behind and screamed._

"_Shut up!" She cried in whisper._

_The growling, once heard before, now again, coming closer and louder._

_Amber and Sock stood, frozen in place. _

"_This isn't good." Amber choked out._

Aubrie grasped the pinwheel in her hand, "What do I do?" she cried out.

"I don't know! Why are you asking me?" Sam beat Aubrie's screeching voice with his own.

"Turn on the fan!"

"I'm trying!"

Skizzo continued to smile as he jumped down, off the table. He made his way closer.

"Turn it on, Sam! Now!" Aubrie screamed as Skizzo stepped over the bodies in his way. Now only a few feet away from Aubrie and Sam.

Aubrie began to blow at the pinwheel, more spit coming out than air.

Sam finally hit the switch on the mini-fan and aimed it at the pinwheel.

Aubrie grasped it as her hair flew around her, blinding her sight. She faced it toward Skizzo, and suddenly a whirlwind spawned from the center of the pinwheel. It grew bigger and bigger, now a black tornado. It spun, faster and faster and curved over Skizzo's head. The opening appeared to be a mouth of eternal black. It grew wider and wider, and within a split second, swallowed Skizzo whole, then disappearing back into the pinwheel's core.

The fan automatically turned off, and the pinwheel stopped spinning.

Aubrie fell back onto the wall behind her.

"Holy shit! That was awesome!" She raised her voice into a high-pitched screech.

People started to groan and awake from their slumber.

"Oh my ears." Ben whined.

_The growling seemed to be right on top of Amber and Sock, as if it were crawling up their skins._

_All of a sudden, the light flashed on and Amber caught a glimpse of one of the most horrid of creatures… before she could even comprehend the sight, she found herself awaking…_

"My head… my ears…" She moaned, blinking her eyes rapidly, adjusting to the brightness of the break room. Sock stretched and yawned. "What a dream…" He howled as he yawned.

"That was SO awesome!" Aubrie got to her feet, not taking her eyes off the pinwheel.

Sam wiped his eyes, "and windy." He said.

Andi and Ben got up, rubbing their heads. "We'd better get out of here before somebody calls the cops!" Aubrie said looking around at all the awakening people.

"Good idea." Sam said.


	15. The Truth Behind Darkness

Amber struggled to get up. Her knees were weak and buckled as she tried to stand. Her vision blurred and the room seemed to spin.

"Damn, I'm dizzy." She shook her head and grabbed hold of the chair next to her for support.

Sock continued to yawn and stretch. "How long have we been out?" He asked in the middle of a yawn.

"I don't know." Amber held herself up by the chair and looked around.

After all of the excitement, Aubrie realized she'd forgotten about Amber.

As Sam, Andi, Ben and Aubrie parked; Aubrie darted out of the car and through The Work Bench entrance. She ran as fast as she could, as fast as her legs would go, until she finally reached the break room door.

"Amber?" She pushed the door open to find her sister sitting up; in the chair, she once used to support her weight. "Amber!" A smile immediately appeared on Aubrie's face as she ran inside and hugged Amber.

"Aw, sisterly love." Sock laughed, getting to his feet.

"Hey!" Amber grinned weakly, patting her sister on the head. "You _actually _listened for once without screwing up!" She looked at Aubrie and nodded.

"Thanks, sis. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably have a party." Aubrie laughed.

"Well, yeah!" Amber hugged Aubrie again.

Later that night, Aubrie stayed over at Amber's house. They sat in the living room, watching "A Nightmare on Elm Street", shoveling handfuls of buttery bag-popcorn into their mouths.

"_Nancy…" Freddy Krueger's voice echoed through the boiler room._

"I can't believe you used to think he was hot!" Aubrie giggled, looking up at Amber.

"Well, he is kinda hot." Amber shrugged.

"Gross!" Aubrie shoved Amber a little. "Oh you should talk… I mean, Zac Efron? Ew!" Amber stifled her laughter, (on purpose) to aggravate her sister.

"Hey! Zac Efron is hot, so shut up!"

"Then don't insult my Fredman." Amber sneered.

Aubrie rolled her eyes, and turned back to the TV screen. All the lights in the house were off, to add shock value to the horror movie.

Just as Freddy Krueger jumped out from behind somewhere, the Devil popped up from behind the couch.

"BOO!" He leaned over them both and grinned.

Amber and Aubrie jumped and screamed, flipping the bag of popcorn in the air. Amber turned around, "Don't do that!" She cried. Popcorn now scattered all over her and Aubrie.

The Devil smiled and began to laugh.

"Got ya." He made his way around the couch to face them. Amber paused the movie and got up.

"What do you want?" She said as she flipped the light on.

"I just came to congratulate you both on a job well done!" He smiled and sat down on a separate chair across from them.

"Don't make yourself comfortable." Amber glared at him, sitting back down with her sister.

"Hey, wait, I did all the work!" Aubrie huffed, elbowing Amber in the side. Amber ignored her.

"Exactly. How did you like it?" The Devil curled his lips more, smiling wider.

Aubrie leaned forward, "It was awesome! Amber it was so cool, I never told you! A tornado came out of the pinwheel!" She smiled excitedly.

Amber's eyes widened in fear. "No!" Her jaw dropped.

"I know what you're doing! You planned this whole thing, didn't you?"

The Devil continued smiling, (as always), "I have no idea what you're talking about." He took his eyes off Amber and shifted them to Aubrie.

"I said no! You have me, you leave my sister alone!"

Aubrie watched Amber ball her fists in anger, (usually what she does before breaking down into tears).

"I don't care if you're the _FUCKING _Devil! I will _NOT _let you go near my family. You have nothing to do with them, so leave it alone and be happy with what you got."

Amber ground her teeth, squeezing her fists tighter, the knuckles now white.

The Devil began to frown in disappointment. He stood up and straightened his jacket.

"If that's what you want, Amber." He glanced at Aubrie once more before leaning closer to Amber. "But remember… I still own you."

His smile returned and the evil in his eyes was unimaginable.

Amber kept her eyes locked on him as he left out the front door.

She continued to stare at the door, even after he left. Almost for five minutes straight, before she looked down at her little sister and gave her a hug.

What she saw in the Devil's eyes was the same as what she saw when she was unconscious. In the darkness of her own subconscious.

She saw what the Devil really was… his true form.

THE END.


End file.
